The 40 best Reuters photos of the year so far

Relatives mourn the death of Irfan Ahmed in Srinagar, Kashmir on August 22.
Cathal McNaughton/Reuters
Reuters' award-winning photojournalists are stationed across the world, documenting all of the major historical moments as well as the quieter ones.

Their team of editors has once again compiled the best photographs taken this year, and, with a little over a month left in 2016, we've picked our top 40 favorites. From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, here are 40 of the most powerful photographs they've captured this year.

Editor's note: Many of the images in this slideshow depict graphic violence and injury, and many are upsetting.

People watch as fireworks explode over Copacabana beach during New Year celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1.

Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

2/

A woman with a Ziggy Stardust tattoo visits a mural of David Bowie in Brixton, south London, the day after his death, on January 11.

Stefan Wermuth/Reuters

3/

A Buddhist monk lights a candle at Wat Phra Dhammakaya during a ceremony on Makha Bucha Day in Pathum Thani province, north of Bangkok, on February 22.

Jorge Silva/Reuters

4/

Here's a view of packed garbage bags in Jdeideh, Beirut, after Lebanon cancelled a plan to export its rubbish to Russia, sending Beirut's six-month garbage crisis back to square one on February 23.

Hasan Shaaban/Reuters

5/

A Somali man injured in a night car bomb attack near a hotel in Hamarweyne district sits along a sidewalk near the scene in Mogadishu, Somalia, on February 26.

Feisal Omar/Reuters

6/

South Korean (blue headbands) and US Marines take positions as amphibious assault vehicles of the South Korean Marine Corps fire smoke bombs during a US-South Korea joint landing operation drill in Pohang, South Korea, on March 12.

Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

7/

Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei holds a rain cover to protect a Syrian refugee woman from the rain as she performs in a field on a piano brought by the artist, near a makeshift camp on the Greek-Macedonian border on March 12.

Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

8/

Refugees and migrants form a human chain to cross a river near the Greek-Macedonian border, west of the the village of Idomeni, Greece, on March 14.

Stoyan Nenov/Reuters

9/

Refugee children play with a stuffed toy in the mud at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni, Greece, on March 15.

Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters

10/

Musician Frilal Ortiz carries a double bass in downtown Havana, on March 16.

Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters

11/

Air Force One — carrying President Barack Obama and his family — flies over a neighborhood in Havana on March 20.

Alberto Reyes/Reuters

12/

On March 22, a refugee sets himself on fire during a protest near the village of Idomeni, Greece, demanding the Greek-Macedonian border be opened.

Kostas Tsironis/Reuters

13/

A man looks out at cherry blossoms in almost full bloom in Tokyo, Japan, on April 1.

Issei Kato/Reuters

14/

A shopkeeper tries to save his belongings as residents use a bridge covered with floodwater on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, on April 4.

Fayaz Aziz/Reuters

15/

A mother holds her child after migrants and refugees tried to open the border fence at a makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, on April 7.

Marko Djurica/Reuters

16/

Tape is tied around 15-month-old Shivani's ankle to prevent her from running away while her mother works at a construction site nearby, in Ahmedabad, India, on April 19.

Amit Dave/Reuters

17/

Fire burns part of an estimated 105 tons of ivory and a ton of rhino horn confiscated from smugglers and poachers at Nairobi National Park near Nairobi, Kenya, on April 30.

Siegfried Modola/Reuters

18/

Wildfires glow underneath The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on May 7.

Mark Blinch/Reuters

19/

A girl sits on a boat at a dried-up pond at the drought-hit Kandal province in Cambodia on May 13.

Samrang Pring/Reuters

20/

A protestor uses a tennis racket to bounce a tear gas canister during a demonstration to protest the government's proposed labor law reforms in Nantes, France, on June 2.

Stephane Mahe/Reuters

21/

A Molotov cocktail is thrown by a protester during a protest called by university students against Venezuela's government in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 9.

Carlos Garcia /Reuters

22/

Friends and family members embrace outside the Orlando Police Headquarters during the investigation of a shooting at Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were murdered during the US' deadliest mass shooting, in Orlando, Florida, on June 12.

Steve Nesius/Reuters

23/

An emu runs to escape an approaching wildfire as it burns near Potrero, California, on June 20.

Mike Blake/Reuters

24/

Brexit supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London, England, on June 23.

Toby Melville/Reuters

25/

On June 27, burnt-out prison cells belonging to Islamic State militants are seen in Fallujah after government forces recaptured the Iraqi city from Islamic State militants.

Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters

26/

A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on July 9.

Jonathan Bachman/Reuters

27/

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton hugs President Barack Obama as she arrives onstage at the end of his speech on the third night of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on July 27.

Jim Young/Reuters

28/

Pope Francis walks through Auschwitz's notorious gate with the sign "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work sets you free) during his visit to the former Nazi death camp in Poland on July 29.

Filippo Monteforte/Reuters

29/

Lee Eun-Ju of South Korea (right) takes a selfie with Hong Un Jong of North Korea (left) during the Olympic Games on August 4.

Dylan Martinez/Reuters

30/

Usain Bolt takes the lead during the Men's 100M semifinals during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 14.

Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

31/

President-elect Donald Trump looks out at Lake Michigan during a visit to the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 16, when he was the GOP nominee for president.

Eric Thayer/Reuters

32/

Relatives of Irfan Ahmed, who, according to local media died after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by security forces, mourn his death in Srinagar as the city remains under curfew following weeks of violence in Kashmir on August 22.

Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

33/

A demonstrator looks at a riot policeman during a protest marking the country's 1973 military coup in Santiago, Chile on September 11.

Carlos Vera/Reuters

34/

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid kneel during the playing of the national anthem before a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Levi's Stadium on September 12.

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters

35/

The charred interior of the parliament is seen after it was burned in post-election protests in Libreville, Gabon, on September 20.

Edward McAllister/Reuters

36/

A woman pours water over a child affected by teargas after clashes between police and street vendors in central Harare, Zimbabwe, on September 27.

Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

37/

People walk on a street next to destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, on October 6.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

38/

A food vendor waits for customers after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti, on October 18.

Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

39/

A flooded building is pictured after Hurricane Matthew passes in Lumberton, North Carolina, on October 11.

Carlo Allegri/Reuters

40/

18 year-old Saida Ahmad Baghili, who is affected by severe acute malnutrition, sits on a bed at the al-Thawra hospital in the Red Sea port city of Houdieda, Yemen, on October 24.